Column: Guard play dictating OVC standings

Eastern+senior+Carmen+Tellez+prepares+to+shoot+a+three-pointer+against+Lincoln+Christian+on+Nov.+12+in+Lantz+Arena.+The+Panthers+won+the+game+97-34.

Adam Tumino

Eastern senior Carmen Tellez prepares to shoot a three-pointer against Lincoln Christian on Nov. 12 in Lantz Arena. The Panthers won the game 97-34.

Adam Tumino, Women's Basketball Reporter

Good guards are usually an important part of any good basketball team. 

The NBA has several dynamic backcourt duos that drive their team’s success: Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson for Golden State, Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum for Portland, and John Wall and Bradley Beal for Washington come to mind.

But OVC women’s basketball boasts some impressive backcourt duos of its own. 

Morehead State is led by a pair of standout guards that have led the Golden Eagles to a 6-1 record, the best in the conference.

They are senior Miranda Crockett and redshirt-junior Aliyah Jeune. 

Crockett has started all seven games so far and is averaging a conference-leading 21.5 points and team-leading 6.6 rebounds per game. 

She is leading the OVC in scoring despite not attempting a three-point shot all season. She is shooting 60.7 percent from the field, which is second in the conference. 

Her best game of the season came against Valparaiso on Nov. 16. In that game she scored 30 points and collected 12 rebounds in a game-high 39 minutes. She shot 10-16 from the field and 10-11 from the free throw line in a 68-62 win for the Golden Eagles. 

Jeune is second in the conference in scoring even though she has not started a game. She has played in six games off the bench and is averaging 20.2 points in just 24.7 minutes per game. 

She scored 28 points in each of the first two games of the season. Jeune then scored 30 points against Alice Lloyd College on Nov. 20, shooting 13-20 from the field including 4-7 from three-point range. The Golden Eagles scored 121 points in the win.

Jeune is a transfer from a storied Rutgers program, where coach C. Vivian Stringer just became the sixth Division I basketball coach to win 1,000 games. 

But Morehead State is not the only OVC team to benefit from good guard play early in the season.

Right here at Eastern, sophomores Taylor Steele and Karle Pace have become legitimate scoring threats from anywhere on the court. 

Steele is leading the Panthers in scoring for the second straight season, averaging 14.8 points per game, the seventh most in the conference. As a freshman, Steele averaged 10.l points per game. 

Steele is also eighth in the OVC in three-point percentage at 45.5 percent. 

Pace has also taken a step forward this season, averaging 13.8 points per game. She is the ninth-leading scorer in the OVC and is 10th in three-point percentage at 44.4 percent. 

Both Steele and Pace are setting the pace for the Panthers while redshirt-senior Grace Lennox continues to work her way back from last season’s knee injury. Lennox was leading the team in scoring last season through eight games before getting injured. 

She is averaging just 4.8 points per game so far this season while shooting 8-26 from the field.

Also producing at guard for Eastern are freshmen Kira Arthofer and Jordyn Hughes, redshirt-freshman Camino Tellez, junior Danielle Berry and senior Carmen Tellez.

Assuming Lennox returns to form, Eastern’s depth at guard could be substantial. 

Other OVC teams have seen productive guards as well, but not quite at the level of Morehead State and Eastern.

Southeast Missouri’s Tesia Thompson and Adrianna Murphy have played well, especially Thompson who is third in the conference in scoring. 

It is still very early in the season, and conference play is still on the horizon. But it seems as if the guard position will be the difference maker in the OVC this season. 

Adam Tumino can be reached at 581-2812 or [email protected].